This chapter is a case study of the transformation of Oliver Twist into a cultural myth via the screen. It assumes that the text and its mass cultural dissemination are both typical and exceptional ...
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This chapter is a case study of the transformation of Oliver Twist into a cultural myth via the screen. It assumes that the text and its mass cultural dissemination are both typical and exceptional in the history of Dickens on screen: like other Dickens's ‘culture‐texts’, Oliver Twist has been popular with large numbers of people, but Oliver Twist is unlike other Dickens texts in the extent to which it has caused political controversy. In particular, the chapter highlights the controversy about anti‐Semitism surrounding David Lean's post‐war adaptation of the novel, which generated an ‘anxiety of influence’ among subsequent directors. It charts the ways in which the cultural myth that is Oliver Twist has metamorphosed in response to trauma in a process of cultural evolution which tells us much about the complex dynamics of mass culture, neither wholly imperialist nor blandly politically correct. The mass cultural repetition of Dickens's moving images, together with the segmentation of the modern cultural marketplace, have made it harder to produce adaptations of his work that achieve the combination of phenomenal mass appeal and the radical political impact which was associated with Dickens—despite accusations of anti‐Semitism ‐ when Oliver Twist first appeared. The chapter maintains that though Dickens's ongoing ability to command extra‐literary attention is arguably radical in itself, many modern adapters of Dickens seem to feel the need to choose between commercial and political Dickens.Less

The Making of a Cultural Myth: Oliver Twist on Screen

Juliet John

Published in print: 2010-11-01

This chapter is a case study of the transformation of Oliver Twist into a cultural myth via the screen. It assumes that the text and its mass cultural dissemination are both typical and exceptional in the history of Dickens on screen: like other Dickens's ‘culture‐texts’, Oliver Twist has been popular with large numbers of people, but Oliver Twist is unlike other Dickens texts in the extent to which it has caused political controversy. In particular, the chapter highlights the controversy about anti‐Semitism surrounding David Lean's post‐war adaptation of the novel, which generated an ‘anxiety of influence’ among subsequent directors. It charts the ways in which the cultural myth that is Oliver Twist has metamorphosed in response to trauma in a process of cultural evolution which tells us much about the complex dynamics of mass culture, neither wholly imperialist nor blandly politically correct. The mass cultural repetition of Dickens's moving images, together with the segmentation of the modern cultural marketplace, have made it harder to produce adaptations of his work that achieve the combination of phenomenal mass appeal and the radical political impact which was associated with Dickens—despite accusations of anti‐Semitism ‐ when Oliver Twist first appeared. The chapter maintains that though Dickens's ongoing ability to command extra‐literary attention is arguably radical in itself, many modern adapters of Dickens seem to feel the need to choose between commercial and political Dickens.

This chapter traces the evolution of the figure of the neighbor-disguised-as-stranger and its narrative role across the oeuvre of Charles Dickens, locating the precursor for the queer narrative shift ...
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This chapter traces the evolution of the figure of the neighbor-disguised-as-stranger and its narrative role across the oeuvre of Charles Dickens, locating the precursor for the queer narrative shift of Joyce and Proust in the criminal or ad hoc antifamilies that cluster in the underworld of Dickens's London. In Oliver Twist, Bleak House, and Great Expectations, the plot is animated by a competition between rival versions of the family, genealogical and queer, for control of the protagonists' destinies and the form of the plot. The outcome of this competition shifts over the course of Dickens's career; in Great Expectations, the various genealogical plots that try and fail to control the novel's form are eventually overwhelmed by the force of a random encounter with a criminal stranger that no family denouement can untie.Less

Queer Expectations

Barry McCrea

Published in print: 2011-06-14

This chapter traces the evolution of the figure of the neighbor-disguised-as-stranger and its narrative role across the oeuvre of Charles Dickens, locating the precursor for the queer narrative shift of Joyce and Proust in the criminal or ad hoc antifamilies that cluster in the underworld of Dickens's London. In Oliver Twist, Bleak House, and Great Expectations, the plot is animated by a competition between rival versions of the family, genealogical and queer, for control of the protagonists' destinies and the form of the plot. The outcome of this competition shifts over the course of Dickens's career; in Great Expectations, the various genealogical plots that try and fail to control the novel's form are eventually overwhelmed by the force of a random encounter with a criminal stranger that no family denouement can untie.

This chapter discusses popular culture, pleasure, and the politics of genre. The term ‘Newgate’ refers to the famous prison destroyed by fire in 1780 and to The Newgate Calendar; or, The Malefactors' ...
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This chapter discusses popular culture, pleasure, and the politics of genre. The term ‘Newgate’ refers to the famous prison destroyed by fire in 1780 and to The Newgate Calendar; or, The Malefactors' Bloody Register, a popular collection of criminal biographies published in 1773. The ‘Newgate’ tag was used insultingly by commentators about a series of novels published between 1830 and 1847 which had ‘criminals as prominent characters’. As Oliver Twist was published in serial form between 1837 and 1839 in Bentley's Miscellany, it was inevitable that it would be labelled a Newgate novel. The fact that Dickens chose to write Oliver Twist, with its rogues' gallery, despite critical antipathy to books about criminals, shows a typical Dickensian blend of courage and opportunism. The objections to Oliver Twist are out of step with other reviews of the novel, which were largely favourable when the first edition was published in book form.Less

Twisting the Newgate Tale: Popular Culture, Pleasure and the Politics of Genre

Juliet John

Published in print: 2001-03-22

This chapter discusses popular culture, pleasure, and the politics of genre. The term ‘Newgate’ refers to the famous prison destroyed by fire in 1780 and to The Newgate Calendar; or, The Malefactors' Bloody Register, a popular collection of criminal biographies published in 1773. The ‘Newgate’ tag was used insultingly by commentators about a series of novels published between 1830 and 1847 which had ‘criminals as prominent characters’. As Oliver Twist was published in serial form between 1837 and 1839 in Bentley's Miscellany, it was inevitable that it would be labelled a Newgate novel. The fact that Dickens chose to write Oliver Twist, with its rogues' gallery, despite critical antipathy to books about criminals, shows a typical Dickensian blend of courage and opportunism. The objections to Oliver Twist are out of step with other reviews of the novel, which were largely favourable when the first edition was published in book form.

This chapter provides context for the emergence of Oliver! by analyzing the musical’s development in the framework of various cultural and theatrical movements. Oliver!’s popularity is rooted in the ...
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This chapter provides context for the emergence of Oliver! by analyzing the musical’s development in the framework of various cultural and theatrical movements. Oliver!’s popularity is rooted in the enduring power of Dickens’s Oliver Twist, which had already become ingrained in Western culture from myriad theatrical and cinematic adaptations, including the all-important David Lean film. Bart’s adaptation built off this Dickensian tradition, though it was simultaneously shaped by the development of the postwar English theater through the efforts of the “angry young men” such as John Osborne and Arnold Wesker. Much as Osborne and Wesker moved the English drama away from the upper-middle-class drawing-room comedy, Lionel Bart moved the English musical away from comic opera and operetta and toward a cockney working-class musical tradition. The chapter concludes by tracing Bart’s early career and his work on music-hall style musicals at Unity Theatre and Theatre Workshop.Less

Setting the Stage: Oliver Twist, Lionel Bart, and Cultural Contexts

Marc Napolitano

Published in print: 2014-10-15

This chapter provides context for the emergence of Oliver! by analyzing the musical’s development in the framework of various cultural and theatrical movements. Oliver!’s popularity is rooted in the enduring power of Dickens’s Oliver Twist, which had already become ingrained in Western culture from myriad theatrical and cinematic adaptations, including the all-important David Lean film. Bart’s adaptation built off this Dickensian tradition, though it was simultaneously shaped by the development of the postwar English theater through the efforts of the “angry young men” such as John Osborne and Arnold Wesker. Much as Osborne and Wesker moved the English drama away from the upper-middle-class drawing-room comedy, Lionel Bart moved the English musical away from comic opera and operetta and toward a cockney working-class musical tradition. The chapter concludes by tracing Bart’s early career and his work on music-hall style musicals at Unity Theatre and Theatre Workshop.

How do scholars historicize bodies of literary writing? This chapter uses Lin Shu and Wei Yi’s versions of Charles Dickens to reconsider late-Qing “exposure fiction” (qianze xiaoshuo) and the novel ...
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How do scholars historicize bodies of literary writing? This chapter uses Lin Shu and Wei Yi’s versions of Charles Dickens to reconsider late-Qing “exposure fiction” (qianze xiaoshuo) and the novel as a transnational mode for critique and promotion of social reform. In works such as A History of Thieves (Zei shi, 1908), a rendition of Oliver Twist, Lin Shu reworked Dickens’s rhetoric of reform both to correct the excesses of popular exposure fiction and to draw parallels between the social dislocation resulting from industrial modernization in nineteenth-century England and contemporary China. Ultimately, these works represent a lost link in understanding how the full-length novel came to be presented in China as a self-consciously international form that could grasp the global reach of capital and attendant social change.Less

Double Exposure

Michael Gibbs Hill

Published in print: 2012-11-05

How do scholars historicize bodies of literary writing? This chapter uses Lin Shu and Wei Yi’s versions of Charles Dickens to reconsider late-Qing “exposure fiction” (qianze xiaoshuo) and the novel as a transnational mode for critique and promotion of social reform. In works such as A History of Thieves (Zei shi, 1908), a rendition of Oliver Twist, Lin Shu reworked Dickens’s rhetoric of reform both to correct the excesses of popular exposure fiction and to draw parallels between the social dislocation resulting from industrial modernization in nineteenth-century England and contemporary China. Ultimately, these works represent a lost link in understanding how the full-length novel came to be presented in China as a self-consciously international form that could grasp the global reach of capital and attendant social change.

This chapter presents a reading of Oliver!, focusing primarily on the four “love stories” that define the narrative: (1) Oliver’s search for love, (2) Nancy and Sykes’s tragic relationship, ...
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This chapter presents a reading of Oliver!, focusing primarily on the four “love stories” that define the narrative: (1) Oliver’s search for love, (2) Nancy and Sykes’s tragic relationship, (3) Fagin’s relationship with the boys in his gang, (4) the courtship between Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Corney. Bart connected all four narrative threads back to the central question of “Where Is Love?”, as posed in Oliver’s key song. Though Bart’s adaptation presents a more uplifting and less brutal narrative than Dickens’s novel, Oliver! nevertheless poses several complicated questions regarding the fragile nature of love and community. The chapter assesses Oliver’s complex relationship with Fagin and the thieves and draws attention to how the songs and orchestral underscoring frequently convey the subversive notion that Oliver would be better off in the working-class, music-hall community of Fagin and his gang than in the middle-class, respectable community of Mr. Brownlow’s house.Less

“Oliver! Oliver!”: A Reading

Marc Napolitano

Published in print: 2014-10-15

This chapter presents a reading of Oliver!, focusing primarily on the four “love stories” that define the narrative: (1) Oliver’s search for love, (2) Nancy and Sykes’s tragic relationship, (3) Fagin’s relationship with the boys in his gang, (4) the courtship between Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Corney. Bart connected all four narrative threads back to the central question of “Where Is Love?”, as posed in Oliver’s key song. Though Bart’s adaptation presents a more uplifting and less brutal narrative than Dickens’s novel, Oliver! nevertheless poses several complicated questions regarding the fragile nature of love and community. The chapter assesses Oliver’s complex relationship with Fagin and the thieves and draws attention to how the songs and orchestral underscoring frequently convey the subversive notion that Oliver would be better off in the working-class, music-hall community of Fagin and his gang than in the middle-class, respectable community of Mr. Brownlow’s house.

This chapter examines Charles Dickens's most famous characters, Oliver Twist in The Adventures of Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress (1837–39), David Copperfield in The Personal History of ...
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This chapter examines Charles Dickens's most famous characters, Oliver Twist in The Adventures of Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress (1837–39), David Copperfield in The Personal History of David Copperfield (1849–50), and Pip in Great Expectations (1861). Dickens used Oliver Twist, an unchanging saintly victim that represents the principle of Good, as an icon who could reform the criminally negligent society by arousing sympathy in others. On the other hand, Dickens used David Copperfield, a self-liberating artist, to construct an exemplary case of child development, of hard-worn personal and professional self-creation. But in Great Expectations, Dickens diverts from the common coming-of-age story, and shows not a triumphant progress, but a decline into stoic moral realism. Dickens portrays Pip as a sterile disillusioned exile destroyed by his fairytale fantasies, reflecting the then impoverished British culture and society.Less

Richard Locke

Published in print: 2013-07-16

This chapter examines Charles Dickens's most famous characters, Oliver Twist in The Adventures of Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress (1837–39), David Copperfield in The Personal History of David Copperfield (1849–50), and Pip in Great Expectations (1861). Dickens used Oliver Twist, an unchanging saintly victim that represents the principle of Good, as an icon who could reform the criminally negligent society by arousing sympathy in others. On the other hand, Dickens used David Copperfield, a self-liberating artist, to construct an exemplary case of child development, of hard-worn personal and professional self-creation. But in Great Expectations, Dickens diverts from the common coming-of-age story, and shows not a triumphant progress, but a decline into stoic moral realism. Dickens portrays Pip as a sterile disillusioned exile destroyed by his fairytale fantasies, reflecting the then impoverished British culture and society.

This chapter examines the influence of Charles Dickens and G. W. M. Reynolds on the changes in the Gothic fiction landscape in England during the mid-Victorian period. It suggests that the works of ...
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This chapter examines the influence of Charles Dickens and G. W. M. Reynolds on the changes in the Gothic fiction landscape in England during the mid-Victorian period. It suggests that the works of these two authors mapped out and located terrors and mysteries in criminalized districts in the heart of London. It argues that such works as Oliver Twist, The Mysteries of London, and Bleak House were adapted to serve new emphases and needs that were shaping the perception of London and its problems at this time.Less

From Udolpho to Spitalfields: Mapping Gothic London

Mighall Robert

Published in print: 2003-03-20

This chapter examines the influence of Charles Dickens and G. W. M. Reynolds on the changes in the Gothic fiction landscape in England during the mid-Victorian period. It suggests that the works of these two authors mapped out and located terrors and mysteries in criminalized districts in the heart of London. It argues that such works as Oliver Twist, The Mysteries of London, and Bleak House were adapted to serve new emphases and needs that were shaping the perception of London and its problems at this time.

This chapter begins by investigating Dickens's creation of narrative plots around the functions of the associative memory in Sketches by Boz and Nicholas Nickleby. Focusing in turn on Oliver Twist, ...
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This chapter begins by investigating Dickens's creation of narrative plots around the functions of the associative memory in Sketches by Boz and Nicholas Nickleby. Focusing in turn on Oliver Twist, The Old Curiosity Shop, and Little Dorrit, the chapter shows how these serials extend the associative powers of memory beyond the narrative itself, working out a technique to pattern the reader's own associations with the novel, or pleasures of memory, by creating memories of reading that become analogous to everyday experience through repeated and collective re-reading. Each of these techniques also involves framing the facsimile experience generated by serial reading as “epitaphic,” or as working through prosopopoeia, by invoking a character, a memory, or the figure of the author as its personification. In this way, reading becomes a means of connecting with absent others and thus a form of cultural memory. By analogy, readers' shared memories of reading Dickens's serial novels leverage participation in a reading audience that could also function as a social activist constituency for solving the problem of poverty.Less

The Pleasures of Memory, Part II : Epitaphic Reading and Cultural Memory

Sarah Winter

Published in print: 2011-06-15

This chapter begins by investigating Dickens's creation of narrative plots around the functions of the associative memory in Sketches by Boz and Nicholas Nickleby. Focusing in turn on Oliver Twist, The Old Curiosity Shop, and Little Dorrit, the chapter shows how these serials extend the associative powers of memory beyond the narrative itself, working out a technique to pattern the reader's own associations with the novel, or pleasures of memory, by creating memories of reading that become analogous to everyday experience through repeated and collective re-reading. Each of these techniques also involves framing the facsimile experience generated by serial reading as “epitaphic,” or as working through prosopopoeia, by invoking a character, a memory, or the figure of the author as its personification. In this way, reading becomes a means of connecting with absent others and thus a form of cultural memory. By analogy, readers' shared memories of reading Dickens's serial novels leverage participation in a reading audience that could also function as a social activist constituency for solving the problem of poverty.

This book has investigated the antisemitism at work in English texts, showing that such texts contain offensive fantasies about a supposed “Jewish” menace that stand in tension with counternarratives ...
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This book has investigated the antisemitism at work in English texts, showing that such texts contain offensive fantasies about a supposed “Jewish” menace that stand in tension with counternarratives about an English Christian reliance on, desire for, and similitude to the “Jewish” materialisms Christianity claims to reject. Representations of the accommodated Jew thus reveal both an offensive politics of rejection and an ideological embrace of the Jew as a tool for accommodating the English to their messy urban materialisms. This coda discusses the implications of the book's findings for later English images of the Jew as they appear in Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. It argues that Oliver Twist complicates received notions of the Jewish house through the juxtaposition of scenes of locking, containment, and enclosure with the portrayal of unwieldy and transgressive flows, circulations, and currents. It also considers how interaction with Jews prompts a reform in Dickens, leading him to offer an account that radically departs from the antisemitic images of Oliver Twist.Less

Coda

Kathy Lavezzo

Published in print: 2016-11-10

This book has investigated the antisemitism at work in English texts, showing that such texts contain offensive fantasies about a supposed “Jewish” menace that stand in tension with counternarratives about an English Christian reliance on, desire for, and similitude to the “Jewish” materialisms Christianity claims to reject. Representations of the accommodated Jew thus reveal both an offensive politics of rejection and an ideological embrace of the Jew as a tool for accommodating the English to their messy urban materialisms. This coda discusses the implications of the book's findings for later English images of the Jew as they appear in Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. It argues that Oliver Twist complicates received notions of the Jewish house through the juxtaposition of scenes of locking, containment, and enclosure with the portrayal of unwieldy and transgressive flows, circulations, and currents. It also considers how interaction with Jews prompts a reform in Dickens, leading him to offer an account that radically departs from the antisemitic images of Oliver Twist.